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Try the instruments for yourself! We keep a huge and varied stock of new and secondhand instruments.

CHALUMEAU

   
Definition: Single-tube, cylindrical, single reed instrument. A seventeenth century ancestor of the clarinet, it has a recorder type body with a single reed mouthpiece. Similar folk instruments are found in many Arabic and European cultures; see Albogue, Alboka, Diplica, Hornpipe, pibgorn, and Sipsi.
Read the full Other Folk Woodwind FAQ Page.
Our 40th Anniversary full colour printed Catalogue is now available! We offer you a unique range of unusual and exciting acoustic and folk instruments from all over the world at great prices. Every item has been chosen to give the best quality at each price level. So give us a call, buy here online, or visit one of our music shops, our staff are friendly and well informed. You pay the same price whether you buy online or in our shops. We do trade-ins, part exchange, appraisals and buy instruments for cash.

  • To give beginners a chance to take up a folk instrument, as well as to provide the best for those who already play.
  • To encourage people to discover and enjoy their own musical heritage & all types of folk music now played in these islands.
  • To help keep music live, by making real acoustic instruments widely available at affordable prices, and sponsoring live events.
  • To encourage people to make music themselves, by taking up a musical instrument. You are never too young or too old to start!
Read our Aims in Full
Hobgoblin Music was founded in 1976 by Mannie and Pete McClelland while searching for a concertina for her to play. Many other interesting instruments came to light and the search grew into a business as they discovered they were not the only ones who wanted to buy folk instruments, but couldn’t find any. read more...
Selected from our Instrument FAQ

CONCERTINA

   
Definition: Small free reed instrument from England, usually hexagonal in shape. there are three common keyboard layouts, each completely different to play on. Anglo, English and Duet (McCann, Crane, Jeffries and Hayden are all types of duet).
Introduction: The concertina was invented by Charles Wheatstone, and the earliest examples, which he called the symphonium, were made in 1829. Its huge popularity in the 19th century was diminished by the arrival of the piano accordion in the 20th. The folk revival has see the concertina back in demand, There are three quite different fingering systems in common use: Anglo, English, and Duet.
Read our Concertina FAQ Page or go to the Hobgoblin Instrument Info and FAQ Menu.